Shades of gray: The Secret Footballer on racism in soccer

From The Secret Footballer for CNN

Updated 1342 GMT (2142 HKT) January 30, 2013

Racism in football6 photos

U.S. star Jozy Altidore was subjected to racial abuse during AZ Alkmaar's cup win at Den Bosch in the Netherlands. The match was halted and the crowd were asked to stop the abusive chanting before the action resumed.

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Racism in football6 photos

AC Milan's Kevin Prince-Boateng walked off the pitch after being racially abused during his side's friendly game with Pro Patria earlier this month. The midfielder was praised for his actions by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

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Racism in football6 photos

Serbia was ordered to play one under-21 match behind closed doors and was fined $105,000 by European football's governing body UEFA for racial abuse in a match with England. UEFA president has appealed the verdict of his organization in the hope of seeing stiffer punishments administered.

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Racism in football6 photos

Chelsea and England captain John Terry was charged by UK police after allegedly making racist remarks to Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in October 2011. Terry was cleared of the charges in a London court in July 2012.

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Liverpool's Luis Suarez was banned and fined by the English Football Association after Manchester United's Patrice Evra claimed the Uruguayan racially insulted him during a match, also in October 2011. Suarez flatly denies Evra's claims.

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Brazilian World Cup winner Roberto Carlos walked off the pitch while playing for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala against Krylya Sovetov in June the same year, after having a banana thrown towards him in the closing stages of the match.

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Story highlights

The Secret Footballer says there is a lack of education regarding racism in football

The EPL has seen racism incidents involving high-profile players in the last 18 months

TSF says fighting racism is not the job of one person or organization

A match in the Netherlands was temporarily halted after U.S. striker Jozy Altidore abused

I love Schrodinger's cat. There are many versions of this famous paradox but here's my favorite ...

You put a cat in a bunker with some unstable gunpowder that has a 50 percent chance of exploding in the next minute and a 50 percent chance of doing nothing. Until we look in the bunker, we don't know if the cat is dead or alive, but when we do look, sure enough, it is dead or alive.

If we repeat the experiment with enough cats and gunpowder, then half the time the cat will live and half the time it will die. But, before we look, the cat is dead and alive; it is only the act of looking that forces nature's decision. For the cat's part, it will either see the gunpowder explode or not.

So, the gunpowder explodes and the cat sees it explode or the gunpowder doesn't explode and the cat doesn't see it explode. The cat's reality becomes entangled with the outcome of the experiment and it is only our observation of the cat that forces nature to collapse into one reality.

Thank God -- or physics -- that football isn't as complicated. At least, it never used to be. The globalization of our game means that domestic football in this country is now represented by players from all over the world who bring with them different faiths and cultural traits that entangle with our own.

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Football racism: Not Black & White act 3

Occasionally, some of these different cultures smash together with all manner of pundits, journalists and fans eager to give their interpretation of the results.

If I were to ask members of our youth team on Monday morning whether anybody from the Football Association or the Premier League has ever spoken to them about racism, I will bet everything I hold dear to me that every single one of them will say "no".

So one of two things happen: either players try too hard not to say something that could be construed as racist -- and do. Or nobody says anything. And that is particularly scary.

The problem is there is a lack of real education on the issue. Throwing t-shirts at players to wear before matches is not education.

Don't get me wrong. We all know what racism looks like in its crudest form, such as the disgraceful monkey gestures we've seen in the Premier League from some fans already this season or the throwing of bananas on to the pitch as happened to the legendary Brazilian left back, Roberto Carlos, while playing in Russia.

Take Alan Hansen, a former Liverpool player who is now a pundit on Britain's highlights show "Match Of The Day", who in 2011 described black players as "colored". There but for the grace of God -- or physics -- goes me.

Because when we were growing up in the early 1980s, my father was at pains to point out the correct term for a black person was "colored" and not as some of the other kids in the street used to say, "Darkie".

We were told to call the man that lived on the end of our row "Indian", even though I am convinced that nobody had a clue where he was from. You certainly never used the "P" word, even though at the time the word could be heard frequently on some of the nation's most popular television shows.

But, of course, nobody is going to tap you on the shoulder 10 or 20 years later with an update and, as we know, so much of what a person learns in childhood will shape their adult life.

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Football racism: Not Black & White act 6

But that doesn't make it acceptable to plead generational or cultural ignorance.

It took an FA-led commission, the report of which ran to 115 pages, to determine whether or not Luis Suarez, the Liverpool striker, had racially abused Patrice Evra, the Manchester United defender, in 2011.

The commission had to consider that in Suarez's native Uruguay, the word "negro" is a widely used term that black people use to greet one another. But, after all, Suarez is mixed race and playing his football in England.

Suarez was eventually banned for eight games and fined $63,000 due to a lack of video evidence.

Keep in mind that John Terry, the former England captain, was banned for four games, despite all the video evidence that was presented during his hearing on whether he had racially abused Anton Ferdinand, the Queens Park Rangers defender.

Perhaps the most lenient punishment of all came last month when UEFA, football's European governing body, imposed what "Kick It Out" chairman, Lord Ouseley, described as a "paltry" $95,000 fine on the Serbian FA after England's black players were racially abused during an Under-21 match in Krusevac.

The Professional Footballers' Association, a body which presents the interests of players in England and Wales, can occasionally be heard in the middle distance calling for tougher punishments.

But its chief executive, Gordon Taylor, would do well to get in front of the players who he represents instead of the TV cameras he seems to prefer. In the absence of any leaders educating the next generation, we continue to see unsavory episodes.

We are arriving very quickly towards a state of extreme paranoia, where everybody is a racist until it's proven that they're not.

Football pioneer on racist abuse

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Soccer player behavior in the spotlight

Take the absolute farce at Stamford Bridge last year when Chelsea complained referee Mark Clattenburg had called midfielder John Obi Mikel a "monkey".

When I phoned my friend at Chelsea, who was in the dressing room as things were kicking off, he told me that even the rest of the Chelsea players didn't believe Mikel and said as much to him.

But Mikel's claim was backed up by his Brazilian teammate, Ramires, who, as my friend put it: "Hardly speaks any English."

It is common knowledge that Clattenburg calls almost every player on the pitch by his nickname and, as my friend said: "We know in all likelihood that the ref has called him "Mikey" but what can we do?"

Premier League rules state that clubs have to make their complaint after the game, when tensions are obviously running high and people are emotional.

Again, as my friend said: "We didn't want to complain but we had to." Fair enough, but the fact the story made its way into the public domain almost before the players had left the stadium could have cost Clattenburg his career if the story hadn't been so unbelievable.

Fortunately, Clattenburg was later absolved.

You don't need me to tell you that a football changing room is a unique place to work in. We bend more rules than the Catholic church and each player will be pushed as close to their tolerance threshold as possible in an attempt to find the boundaries of acceptable mockery.

There are examples of this behavior every single day. During the running sessions in which the fitness coach will tell you that "we're looking for winners", the person who crosses the line first will usually be abused based on a strong feature that they have.

Soccer racism in Eastern Europe 8 photos

Soccer racism in Eastern Europe8 photos

Serbia scuffles – England midfielder Danny Rose claims he was subjected to monkey chants before, during and after the second-leg of their Under-21 Euro 2013 playoff match against Serbia on Tuesday, and had stones thrown at him by the crowd in Krusevac. Fans also ran on to the pitch and scuffles broke out after a 1-0 win secured England qualification for Euro 2013.

Trouble in Bulgaria – In September 2011, Bulgaria were fined $55,000 after a small number of fans directed monkey chants at England's Ashley Young, Cole and Theo Walcott during a Euro 2012 qualifier in Sofia.

Croatia in the dock – The Croatian FA were ordered to pay a $16,000 fine after their fans were found guilty of "displaying a racist banner and showing racist conduct during the Euro 2008 quarter-final tie against Turkey.

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Soccer racism in Eastern Europe8 photos

Crackdown on Russia – Russia were again in the news for the wrong reasons at Euro 2012 and were fined $39,00 for "the setting off and throwing of fireworks by Russia spectators, displaying of illicit banners and the invasion of the pitch by a supporter," during the Euro 2012 tie against Poland. Russia was also fined $155,000 after clashes between supporters and police during and after their game against the Czech Republic.

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Soccer racism in Eastern Europe8 photos

Bendtner loses gamble – Denmark's Nicklas Bendtner was given a one-match ban and a $126,000 fine after he lifted his shirt to reveal a betting company's logo on his underwear while celebrating a goal against Portugal in a Euro 2012 group game.

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Soccer racism in Eastern Europe8 photos

Porto punished – Porto were hit by a $27,000 fine after their fans were found guilty of subjecting Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli to monkey chants during a Europa League game in February 2012. It took UEFA six weeks to finally hand out a punishment. But questions were raised after UEFA also fined City $40,000 after the club were found guilty of coming back out on to the field of play late after the halftime interval.

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Crime and Punishment in sport 10 photos

Crime and Punishment in sport10 photos

Where it all began – It is now nearly a year since Chelsea lost to QPR 1-0 in an English Premier League game at Loftus Road. During the game it was alleged QPR defender Anton Ferdinand swore at John Terry and made reference to the Chelsea captain's reported affair with the ex-partner of former team-mate Wayne Bridge. Terry is then said to have described Ferdinand as a "f***ing black c***".

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Crime and Punishment in sport10 photos

Beyond reasonable doubt – In July, Terry was cleared in a London court, where the criminal burden of proof is "beyond all reasonable doubt". But the English Football Association then investigated the case, and using the test of "on the balance of probabilities", came to the conclusion that Terry's defence against claims he racially abused Ferdinand was "improbable, implausible, contrived".

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Handshake snub – Back in September, Ferdinand had declined Terry's offer of a handshake when QPR met Chelsea at Loftus Road as the feud between the two players rumbled on.

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'Twatgate' – After the FA delivered the independent commission's report on the Terry case, the Chelsea captain's teammate Ashley Cole tweeted: "Hahahahaa, well done #fa I lied did I, #BUNCHOFT***S". The Chelsea and England left-back quickly issued a "unreserved apology" for his tweet through his solicitor.

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Suarez punished – In 2011 the FA had to deal with another racism case, this time handing Liverpool striker Luis Suarez an eight-match ban and a $63,000 fine after finding the Uruguayan guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

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The end of the affair – Suarez and Evra failed to shake hands before the start of an English Premier League game at Old Trafford last season after the Uruguayan had served his ban. However, when United beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield in September, the pair did shake hands.

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Fine line – Questions have been raised about UEFA's sanctioning policy. Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner was fined $126,000 and banned from playing in his side's next competitive game for flashing his sponsored waistband promoting a bookmaker as he celebrated a goal against Portugal in Euro 2012. But that fine eclipsed the $52,000 fine that UEFA handed to the Bulgarian Football Union for its fans' racist abuse of England players during a Euro 2012 qualifier in Sofia in September 2011.

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Blattergate – In November 2011, FIFA president Sepp Blatter told CNN that football did not have a problem with racism on the field and any incidents should be settled by a handshake.

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Guilty as charged – The FA's Independent Regulatory Commission heard 473 cases between December 2010 and December 2011, but only two of them ended in "not guilty" verdicts.

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Call to action – Stoke City boss Tony Pulis wants the Football Association to punish Liverpool's Luis Suarez for diving. "It's an embarrassment," said the Stoke manager after a 0-0 draw at Anfield. "The FA should be looking at this."

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So a person with a big nose might hear a fellow professional shout: "He won it by a nose!" A few weeks ago, somebody shouted to a black player: "He won it by a lip!" And everybody laughed, including the player who the comment was directed at.

But there are also players who have their own unique relationship with each other.

I know a black player and a white player who go out of their way to deliver insult after insult about each other's race and personal appearance.

They are strong characters and enjoy engaging each other on that level and treat their relationship, it seems to me, as a test of quick wit. It's worth pointing out that they do it only in front of the squad.

It's been like that at every club I've played for. I remember a ball getting stuck in a tree at one club and a black French player saying to an African player "you climb this tree, you a bigger monkey than me" before the pair of them fell about laughing.

Some comments you will hear at most football clubs. They seem to travel as players move around and become entangled in the clubs' genes.

Tackling racism should never be considered the job of one person or organization. The task is too great and, if I may say, too diverse.

Nobody seems to know what the right thing to say is anymore and it could be that point which prevents people stepping forward to speak out.

Maybe quantum mechanics is easier after all. In Schrodinger's book, "What Is Life?" he talks about each individual's consciousness as being only a manifestation of a unitary consciousness that pervades the universe.

His best-known work on wave mechanics known as "Schrodinger's Equation" goes some way to explaining the inter-connectivity of the universe at a quantum level.

Think of Suarez and Evra as ocean waves or tornadoes.

At first glance, they appear to be two separate bodies, but they're not. That is simply the way we chose to perceive them. Waves and tornadoes are simply water and wind stirred up in different directions. The truth is that nothing is separate and everything is related. The colors that we see exist only in our own consciousness.

** With special thanks to The Secret Footballer's good friend Mr T, working at CERN.